Ireland.
Meeting, building, nurturing new and old relations; friendships we will never forget, relations we will grow and tend to; teachings and reunions we are deeply grateful for.
Deep gratitude to you dear Mary, for our Sunday afternoon in Glendalough Valley surrounded by the Wicklow Mountains visiting St. Kevin’s Monastic City. The rich history, archaeology filled us with serenity, delight and knowledge. Thank you for sharing pieces of your own story and expanding our historical perspectives; for James Plunkett’s, historical novel, Strumpet City; and most importantly for your gentle peaceful powerful being. Deep gratitude to you dear Mary.
Deep gratitude to you dear Mariam for our short powerful connect in Carpe Diem Café where we learnt of your work with refugees; of contemporary art projects travelling Ireland representing the Voices of Asylum Seekers; of your trip to Grenada; of your dear friend Stephen Ng’ang’a, Kenyan/Irish Activist and Advocate. Deep gratitude to you dear Mariam.
Deep gratitude to you dear Joy and John for our meeting 18 years ago Joy, through our glorious friend Margaret; for our day with you and John in Sligo; for our visit to a downtown gallery where we experienced the paintings of Jack Yeats; for our hike through fields and up a mountain in the wilds of Yeats country; for our lunch and conversation at the base of Glencar Waterfall; for our drive by homage to W.B.Yeats graveside; for taking us to the stables by the sea where Maya and I explored the wild Atlantic on horseback; for driving us back to the hostel where we said our goodbyes hoping our paths would meet again. Deep gratitude to you….
Deep gratitude to you Fr. Dermot, dear friend, dear revolutionary, dear brother, dear teacher, dear father. I’ve known you for almost 25 years, what an honor to be with you in your homeland. Deep gratitude for our paths crossing, for you placing me on my authentic, Grenadian, peace and justice path; for a day exploring Ireland past to present, celebrating her people and culture home and abroad at Dublin’s new Epic Ireland Centre; for showing us history through the famine sculptures and ships, hauntingly shaping our ancestral souls; for sharing lunch and stories of your time in Biafra during the civil war; for dancing us across the busy streets of Dublin to watch youth men jump the bridge into River Liffey; for walking us through the busy streets of Dublin to find Grafton street and then for not saying goodbye but see you soon, Deep Gratitude to you Dear Dermot.
Deep gratitude for you Stephen, Tatiana and Stephanie. Thank you Stephen Ng’ang’a, Kenyan/Irish Activist for the crucial work you do; for your love of justice and truth, your advocacy and mobilizing spirit, your fierce passion for human rights for all; thank you for your glorious, magical daughters, Titiana and Stephanie who blessed us with their love and playfulness. Deep gratitude to you all. One love. One family.
Deep gratitude to you dear Peter for your humble gentle presence, for you love of antiques, for your passion for art and sharing the works of Irish Artists, for your upcoming book on one of those Artists, john ffrench; for the walk with your two small canines Betty and Charlie and for your long powerful friendship with our mutual friend, Margaret. Deep gratitude to you.
Deep gratitude to you dear Margaret, dear friend, comrade, mother, grandmother, teacher, mentor. Deep gratitude Margaret for without you this trip may not have been; new friends we may not have met and cherished; Irish and world teachings may never been learnt; stories of your powerful life may never been incorporated within our own. Deep gratitude Margaret for sharing with us your gentle, powerful daughter Kate and Grand Daughter, Emily; for stories of the rest of your tribe Zortia, Patrick, Becky, Jamie and Joyce; for the graciousness of your space, food and wine; for guiding us through our ancestral journey; for enabling us to be grander versions of our beautiful selves! Deep Gratitude for you dear Margaret. We love you fiercely.